TAYLOR SWIFT NAMED IFPI GLOBAL RECORDING ARTIST OF 2014

23 February 2015 - Press release

Taylor Swift has been named the IFPI Global Recording Artist of 2014, receiving the annual award honouring the most popular recording artist across music downloads, streaming and physical format sales worldwide.

Taylor Swift released her fifth studio album, 1989, in October 2014 and it sold more than 1.2 million copies in its first week of release in the US alone, the highest debut sales week since Eminem’s The Eminem Show in 2002.  1989 also sold well worldwide, becoming a top five hit in Germany, Japan and the UK, the next largest recorded music markets.  The album’s lead single, Shake It Off, was a top five hit in more than 20 countries, from Canada to Japan, and its accompanying video was viewed more than 350 million times on YouTube. 

The second position on the chart was taken by One Direction, the UK/Irish band who topped the inaugural IFPI Global Recording Artist Chart last year.  The band released their fourth studio album FOUR in November 2014, which topped the Billboard 200 chart, meaning One Direction became the first group to have all their first four studio albums debut at the top of the US charts.  FOUR, which contained the hit singles Steal My Girl and Night Changes, also topped the charts internationally in markets from Argentina to the UK.   

Third place was claimed by singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who released his second studio album x in June 2014 and which topped the chart in 12 countries and reached the top five in a further 11 markets.  The album contained the hit singles Sing, Don’t and Thinking Out Loud.  Streaming service Spotify announced that x was its most streamed album in the world in 2014.

 

Top 10 Global Recording Artists 2014

 

Rank	Artist
1	Taylor Swift
2	One Direction
3	Ed Sheeran
4	Coldplay
5	AC/DC
6	Michael Jackson
7	Pink Floyd
8	Sam Smith
9	Katy Perry
10	Beyoncé

‎Source: IFPI.  See note to editors below.

 

Another huge success in 2014 was the phenomenal sales of the soundtrack album Frozen.  If the album had been recorded by a single artist, it would have topped the chart, but as the chart is compiled based on artist releases, it was ineligible for inclusion.  

IFPI published its annual Global Recording Artists Chart today to accurately capture the popularity of artists across streaming channels, alongside digital and physical album and singles sales.

The independently verified chart includes sales of albums – across digital, CD and vinyl formats; singles, both downloaded and physical; on-demand audio streams and music videos.  The chart includes all the music of each artist featured, not just one track or album.  It uses track and album equivalents to combine measurements of downloads, physical sales and streams.

Frances Moore, chief executive of IFPI, says: “Congratulations to Taylor Swift who has been named the IFPI Global Recording Artist of 2014.  She merits this result as she is a hardworking and talented performer who has an amazing ability to connect with audiences worldwide.  This IFPI award reflects the global popularity of recording artists across the diverse ways in which fans choose to listen to music today.”